Jerry Lee Lewis
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American musician. He was born in Ferriday, Louisiana and is a cousin of Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart. Like other music players who were known by many people around the same time as him Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins, he sang gospel and country music before becoming well-known for rock and roll. He was known for his wild style of piano playing and songs like "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire".
Lewis got a career boost, when he performed on The Steve Allen Show. His first son was named Steve Allen Lewis, as a tribute.
At a time when Lewis was very popular, people found out that his third wife, Myra Gale Brown, was a 13-year-old distant cousin of his. People thought this was bad, and his career came to an end. In the early 1960s, he made a comeback, but throughout the next two decades (groups of ten years) he suffered many personal problems, including health problems, divorce, people saying that he used drugs and had murdered, and the death of two sons.
Even though he has had problems, he is still active and people think of him as an icon and pioneer of popular music. A 1989 movie, Great Balls of Fire, starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder, is about his life.
